We asked people on the Panel how passionate or proud they were of their local area and of their town or city as a whole. Two thirds of residents felt passionate for both the immediate locality and their town or area. About one in ten of the Panel did not feel passionate about where they lived. 

People living in South Norfolk and Broadland were more likely to be passionate about the immediate locality and town/area than people living in other areas. Those in North Norfolk were also more passionate about their immediate locality than their local town whilst people living in Norwich felt the opposite - they felt more passionate about the City than their immediate locality.

We also gave residents a list of things that are part of local heritage in an area and asked them to say how important they felt each thing was in making residents feel good about their local area. 

More than seven in ten each rated iconic historic buildings, attractive townscapes, other historic buildings, archaeological and historic sites and museums and their collections as important.  Those aspects considered least important were superlatives, such as having the oldest building, or the tallest church in an area, historically important sites which no longer exist, and sport and culture. 

More than eight in ten people on the Panel felt that ensuring locally distinctive designs and developing community projects to celebrate special aspects of local areas would help people feel prouder of where they lived.

Overall people on the Panel said that they were passionate about iconic buildings and the preservation of historic townscapes. People were also interested in the archaeology of Norfolk and were keen to participate in community projects that celebrated what was special about their local area.

We are using this information to develop projects to redisplay the Bridewell Museum of Trades and Industries in Norwich with more emphasis on the history of the building and how the people working in Norwich industries worked and played. 

We are also planning new displays in Norwich Castle keep on its role as a prison, and the medieval history of Norwich.

Coastal erosion is a matter of great concern and we are planning a project to record the archaeology of the coast, working with local communities to identify what is special about their area.